Rave reviews

12:50 AM,
Oct. 3, 2012

Written by

Herman Fuselier
hfuselier@theadvertiser.com

Ten years ago, Isaac Toups left his hometown of Rayne to pursue a culinary career in New Orleans. To his surprise, the Crescent City had no cracklins, Acadiana's favorite fried nuggets of pork, fat and skin, dusted with flavorful seasonings.

"Once you get past the Atchafalaya Basin, there's not a whole lot of places you can go and get cracklins," said Toups. "When I first got here to New Orleans, I was like, 'Man, what do you mean I can't get cracklins?'

"Now, I'm the guy with cracklins. Back in Rayne and Lafayette, you can go five minutes in any direction and get cracklins. A couple of other people ...